Centromeres, the central regions of chromosomes, play a crucial role in ensuring the stability and accurate transmission of genetic information in organisms. However, due to the highly repetitive tandem sequences that characterize centromeric DNA, fine-scale analysis of these sequences has long been a scientific challenge.

Led by Professor Ye Kai, a multidisciplinary team from Xi'an Jiaotong University (XJTU) focusing on bioinformatics and biomedical sciences developed a computational approach targeting highly complex genomic regions. They successfully mapped the centromeric sequences of four Papaver species: Papaver rhoeas (common poppy), Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy), Papaver somniferum (opium poppy), and Papaver setigerum (poppy of Troy). Each of these species has distinctive karyotypic characteristics.

The team employed hybrid assembly techniques, using high-precision long-read sequencing data to overcome the challenges associated with resolving highly complex genomic regions. This work provides new insights into the role of centromeres in species formation and evolution. The study reveals that centromere-mediated chromosome rearrangements play a key role in shaping the complex karyotypes of these species, offering a new explanation for the development and stable inheritance of important biological traits.

The latest findings, titled "The centromere landscapes of four karyotypically diverse Papaver species provide insights into chromosome evolution and speciation", were published online on July 30 in Cell Genomics. Professor Ye and Professor Yang Xiaofei from the School of Computer Science at XJTU serve as co-corresponding authors of the paper.